Search results for: repetitive movements

Authors: Kashvi Jain, Adam Burston

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Right-wing social movements are a dominant force in American politics, as evidenced by the January 6th Insurrection, the prevalence of extremist conspiracy theories, and a nationwide surge in hate crime. Despite an abundance of scholarship on contemporary right-wing extremism, there is little scholarship that explains their rise. This paper examines how the white power movement developed through tactical innovation and strategic use of increasingly powerful digital technologies. Using qualitative content analysis of archived digital bulletin boards and websites, we examine right-wing extremists’ digital communication during three consequential time periods of tactical and technological innovation: pre-internet (1980s), web 1.0 (1990s), and web 2.0 (2000s). Our analysis suggests that right-wing activists innovatively exploited the features and affordances of digital technologies and their knowledge of free speech rights to spread supremacist collective identity and ideology. Beyond our empirical contribution, we offer policy advice that school administrators can employ to limit hate.

Keywords: leaderless resistance, technological affordances, anti-defamation league, white power movement, tactical

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Authors: Edward Poluyi, Eghosa Morgan, Charles Poluyi, Chibuikem Ikwuegbuenyi, Grace Imaguezegie

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Background: Current epidemiological studies have examined the associations between moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their risks of developing neurodegenerative diseases. Concussion, also known as mild TBI (mTBI), is however quite distinct from moderate or severe TBIs. Only few studies in this burgeoning area have examined concussion—especially repetitive episodes—and neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, no definite relationship has been established between them. Objectives : This review will discuss the available literature linking concussion and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Materials and Methods: Given the complexity of this subject, a realistic review methodology was selected which includes clarifying the scope and developing a theoretical framework, developing a search strategy, selection and appraisal, data extraction, and synthesis. A detailed literature matrix was set out in order to get relevant and recent findings on this topic. Results: Presently, there is no objective clinical test for the diagnosis of concussion because the features are less obvious on physical examination. Absence of an objective test in diagnosing concussion sometimes leads to skepticism when confirming the presence or absence of concussion. Intriguingly, several possible explanations have been proposed in the pathological mechanisms that lead to the development of some neurodegenerative disorders (such as ALS and AD) and concussion but the two major events are deposition of tau proteins (abnormal microtubule proteins) and neuroinflammation, which ranges from glutamate excitotoxicity pathways and inflammatory pathways (which leads to a rise in the metabolic demands of microglia cells and neurons), to mitochondrial function via the oxidative pathways.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, mild traumatic brain injury, neurodegeneration

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Authors: Osman Adiguzel

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Shape memory alloys take place in a class of smart materials by exhibiting a peculiar property called the shape memory effect. This property is characterized by the recoverability of two certain shapes of material at different temperatures. These materials are often called smart materials due to their functionality and their capacity of responding to changes in the environment. Shape memory materials are used as shape memory devices in many interdisciplinary fields such as medicine, bioengineering, metallurgy, building industry and many engineering fields. The shape memory effect is performed thermally by heating and cooling after first cooling and stressing treatments, and this behavior is called thermoelasticity. This effect is based on martensitic transformations characterized by changes in the crystal structure of the material. The shape memory effect is the result of successive thermally and stress-induced martensitic transformations. Shape memory alloys exhibit thermoelasticity and superelasticity by means of deformation in the low-temperature product phase and high-temperature parent phase region, respectively. Superelasticity is performed by stressing and releasing the material in the parent phase region. Loading and unloading paths are different in the stress-strain diagram, and the cycling loop reveals energy dissipation. The strain energy is stored after releasing, and these alloys are mainly used as deformation absorbent materials in control of civil structures subjected to seismic events, due to the absorbance of strain energy during any disaster or earthquake. Thermal-induced martensitic transformation occurs thermally on cooling, along with lattice twinning with cooperative movements of atoms by means of lattice invariant shears, and ordered parent phase structures turn into twinned martensite structures, and twinned structures turn into the detwinned structures by means of stress-induced martensitic transformation by stressing the material in the martensitic condition. Thermal induced transformation occurs with the cooperative movements of atoms in two opposite directions, <110 > -type directions on the {110} - type planes of austenite matrix which is the basal plane of martensite. Copper-based alloys exhibit this property in the metastable β-phase region, which has bcc-based structures at high-temperature parent phase field. Lattice invariant shear and twinning is not uniform in copper-based ternary alloys and gives rise to the formation of complex layered structures, depending on the stacking sequences on the close-packed planes of the ordered parent phase lattice. In the present contribution, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies were carried out on two copper-based CuAlMn and CuZnAl alloys. X-ray diffraction profiles and electron diffraction patterns reveal that both alloys exhibit superlattice reflections inherited from the parent phase due to the displacive character of martensitic transformation. X-ray diffractograms taken in a long time interval show that diffraction angles and intensities of diffraction peaks change with the aging duration at room temperature. In particular, some of the successive peak pairs providing a special relation between Miller indices come close to each other. This result refers to the rearrangement of atoms in a diffusive manner.

Keywords: shape memory effect, martensitic transformation, reversibility, superelasticity, twinning, detwinning

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Authors: Mahmudjon Kuchkarov, Marufjon Kuchkarov

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The origin of ‘Human Language’ is still a secret and the most interesting subject of historical linguistics. The core element is the nature of labeling or coding the things or processes with symbols and sounds. In this paper, we investigate human’s involuntary Paired Sounds and Shape Production (PSSP) and its contribution to the development of early human communication. Aimed at twenty-six volunteers who provided many physical movements with various difficulties, the research team investigated the natural, repeatable, and paired sounds and shape productions during human activities. The paper claims the involvement of Paired Sounds and Shape Production (PSSP) in the phonetic origin of some modern words and the existence of similarities between elements of PSSP with characters of the classic Latin alphabet. The results may be used not only as a supporting idea for existing theories but to create a closer look at some fundamental nature of the origin of the languages as well.

Keywords: body shape, body language, coding, Latin alphabet, merging method, movement language, movement sound, natural sound, origin of language, pairing, phonetics, sound and shape production, word origin, word semantic

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Authors: Bintou Jobe

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Musculo-skeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or disorders of the spine disc, muscle strains, and low back injuries. It remains a major cause of occupational illness. Findings: Due to poor grips during handling, it is possible for neck, shoulder, arm, knees, ankle, fingers, waist, lower back injuries, and other muscle joints to be affected. Pregnant women are more prone to physical and hormonal changes, which lead to the relaxation of supporting ligaments. MSD continues to pose a global concern due to its impact on workers worldwide. The prevalence of the disorder is high, according to research into the workforce in Europe and developing countries. The causes are characterized by long working hours, insufficient rest breaks, poor posture, repetitive motion, poor manual handling techniques, psychological stress, and poor nutrition. To prevent MSD, the design mainly involves avoiding and assessing the risk. However, clinical solutions, policy governance, and minimizing manual labour are also an alternative. In addition, eating a balanced diet and teamwork force are key to elements in minimising the risk. This review aims to raise awareness and promote cost effectiveness prevention and understanding of MSD through research and identify proposed solutions to recognise the underlying causes of MSDs in the construction sectors. The methodology involves a literature review approach, engaging with the policy landscape of MSD, synthesising publications on MSD and a wider range of academic publications. In conclusion, training on effective manual handling techniques should be considered, and Personal Protective Equipment should be a last resort. The implementation of training guidelines has yielded significant benefits.

Keywords: musculoskeletal disorder work related, MSD, manual handling, work hazards

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Authors: M. Owlia, M. H. Azarsa, M. Khabbazan, A. Mirbagheri

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Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation exercises are a series of stretching techniques that are commonly used in rehabilitation and exercise therapy. Assessment of these exercises for true maneuvering requires extensive experience in this field and could not be down with patients themselves. In this paper, we developed software that uses Microsoft Kinect sensor, a spherical color marker, and real-time image processing methods to evaluate patient’s performance in generating true patterns of movements. The software also provides the patient with a visual feedback by showing his/her avatar in a Virtual Reality environment along with the correct path of moving hand, wrist and marker. Primary results during PNF exercise therapy of a patient in a room environment shows the ability of the system to identify any deviation of maneuvering path and direction of the hand from the one that has been performed by an expert physician.

Keywords: image processing, Microsoft Kinect, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, upper extremities assessment, virtual reality

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Authors: Prathibha Ganesan

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This paper discusses discontents of inhabitants in the landfills and its culmination into resistance against centralised waste disposal during the last three decades in Kerala. The study is based on a sample survey of 175 households located in the landfill sites and city limits of two Municipal Corporations viz. Thrissur and Cochin. The study found that waste is dumped in the periphery of the urban area where economically and socially vulnerable people are densely populated. Moreover, landfill sites are unscientifically managed to cause severe socio-economic and health issues to the local people, finally leading to their mobilisation and persistent struggle. The struggles often culminate in the closure of landfills or forced relocation or abandonment of the region by the community. The study concluded that persistent people’s struggles compel the local state to either find alternatives to centralised solid waste management system or use political power to subsume the local resistance. The persistence of the struggles determined the type waste governance adopted by the local governments.

Keywords: solid waste management, municipal corporation, resistance movements, urban, Kerala

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Authors: Christel Elisabeth Bonin

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The score of the 2 ½ hour ‘magnum opus’ named ‘Epitaph’ was reconstructed 10 years after Charles Mingus’ death in 1979. Most of the movements were probably composed in the late 1950s. As the finale was missing, Gunther Schuller, the conductor of the world premiere in 1989, decided to improvise one with the orchestra, using Mingus as a guide. The aim of this paper is to analyze ‘Main Score Part I ‘ and ‘Main Score Part II’ and to look into the score of Mingus’ reconstructed compositions under particular observation of the new finale, ‘Main Score Reprise’. There, Mingus left instructions for a return to the opening section of ‘Epitaph’. By examining ‘Epitaph’ in the historical context of Jazz between 1955 to 1967 and the 1980s and comparing the finale of ‘Epitaph’, created - or better said: improvised - by the musicians of the 1989 world premiere with the opening section, at first it will be interesting to discover at which point Gunther Schuller followed Mingus creative process and brought it to life in 1989. Finally, it will be speculated if Charles Mingus composition still represents a foresight of Jazz nearly 30 years after its creation.

Keywords: epitaph, Charles Mingus, Gunter Schuller, jazz reception, bebop, hardbop, Duke Ellington, black, brown and beige, African-American music, free-jazz

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Authors: Ersilio Tushaj

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The efficient solution that satisfies the optimal condition is an important issue in the structural engineering design problem. The new codes of structural design consist in design methodology that looks after the exploitation of the total resources of the construction material. In recent years some non-deterministic or meta-heuristic structural optimization algorithms have been developed widely in the research community. These methods search the optimum condition starting from the simulation of a natural phenomenon, such as survival of the fittest, the immune system, swarm intelligence or the cooling process of molten metal through annealing. Among these techniques the most known are: the genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, evolution strategies, particle swarm optimization, tabu search, ant colony optimization, harmony search and big bang crunch optimization. In this study, five of these algorithms are applied for the optimum weight design of a steel truss structure with variable geometry but fixed topology. The design process selects optimum distances and size sections from a set of commercial steel profiles. In the formulation of the design problem are considered deflection limitations, buckling and allowable stress constraints. The approach is repeated starting from different initial populations. The design problem topology is taken from an existing steel structure. The optimization process helps the engineer to achieve good final solutions, avoiding the repetitive evaluation of alternative designs in a time consuming process. The algorithms used for the application, the results of the optimal solutions, the number of iterations and the minimal weight designs, will be reported in the paper. Based on these results, it would be estimated, the amount of the steel that could be saved by applying structural analysis combined with non-deterministic optimization methods.

Keywords: structural optimization, non-deterministic methods, truss structures, steel truss

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Authors: Amber Salamanca-Blazek

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This paper explores the connection between gender ideology and the legality of same-sex marriage cross-nationally. The author questions what role gender ideology plays in the cultural shift concerning same-sex marriage currently underway around the world and the variations in the legal treatment of same-sex marriage at the national level. Existing literature on gender, gender ideology, the role of gender ideology in traditional and same-sex marriage, and the extent to which this connection has previously been examined is explored. Also, the author explores the relationship between gender ideology and the legality of same-sex marriage in three countries with the differing legality of same-sex marriage - The United States, where same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015, Australia, where same-sex marriage was legalized in 2017, and Iran, where the death penalty for homosexuality still exists. A comparison of gender ideology frameworks and an analysis of the political rhetoric surrounding same-sex marriage in each country are performed. It is argued that the important role of gender ideology in the legality of same-sex marriage has been greatly ignored and is in need of increased attention to assist gay rights activists in their framework. The link of gender ideology and patriarchal authority between the gay rights movement and the women’s rights movement are subsequently discussed. The author argues that because of this linkage between movements, there is a necessity for joint frameworks. Suggestions for future research are also provided.

Keywords: gender ideology, same-sex marriage, same-sex marriage legality, women's rights movement

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Authors: Kumars ZandParsa, Quynh Nguyen, Hadi Moradi

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There are old cast-in-place concrete box girder bridges in California with inter-span hinges that are designed based on old earthquake codes. Hinge removal is part of the bridges’ earthquake retrofitting project, and hinges were removed and replaced with modified hinges per new earthquake codes. The span that has a hinge is divided into short and long cantilevers in which the short cantilever supports the long cantilever. In the recent bridge hinge replacement, the length of the short and long cantilevers were 20ft and 80ft, respectively. The seat in the new design is wider than the old design, and the horizontal and vertical movements of the deck at the hinge location must be computed to check if restraints are needed. In this paper, besides considering the conventional reinforced concrete box girder bridges, the hinge removal operations, along with the response spectrum analysis based on the El Centro 1940 earthquake, will be presented to verify if vertical and horizontal restrainers are needed.

Keywords: hinge replacement, restrainers, vertical earthquake, response spectrum analysis

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Authors: Nudrat Kamal

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Scholarship exploring the development of the literary tradition of feminist utopias, especially in the sociopolitical context of Europe and North America, has been important and meaningful, but it is, in large part, still restricted to Euro-American texts. This paper will explore Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s feminist utopia Herland (1915) with another feminist utopia written just a decade before, but in a widely different sociopolitical context: Bengali feminist writer Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s English short story Sultana’s Dream (1905). The paper will argue that both texts, despite being written in such different cultural and historical contexts, utilize and subvert the public versus private/domestic sphere dichotomy and the restricted gender roles associated with each sphere in order to conceive of specific formulations of feminist modernities that reflect the sociopolitical contexts and feminist movements both writers were writing within. By bringing Gilman’s Herland into conversation with Hossain’s Sultana’s Dream, the paper hopes to illuminate the new meanings that might emerge if the scholarship on Western feminist utopias was to open itself up to the feminist utopias written elsewhere.

Keywords: comparative literature, feminist utopias, modernity, South Asian literature, utopias

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Authors: Tania Mitra

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Digital Activism or Cyber Activism uses digital media as a means to disseminate information and mobilize masses towards a specific goal. When digital activism was first born in the early 1990s, it was primarily used by groups of organized political activists. However, with the advent of social media, online activism has filtered down to the individual- one who does not necessarily belong to or identify with an agenda, group, or political party. A large part of digital activism today stems from the individual’s notion of what is right and wrong. This gives rise to a discourse around descriptive ethics and the implications of the independent digital activist. Although digital activism has paved the way for and bolstered support for causes like the MeToo Movement and Black Lives Matter, the lack of a unified, organized body has led to counterintuitive progressions and suspicions regarding the movements. The paper introduces the ideas of 'clout' culture, click baits, and clicktivism (the phenomenon where activism is reduced to a blind following of the online trends), to discuss the impacts of exclusive digital activism. By using Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian approach to ethics, that places emphasis on the best possible outcome for a society, the paper will show how individual online activism reaching for a larger, more common end can sometimes lead to an undermining of that end, not only in the online space but also how it manifests in the real world.

Keywords: digital activism, ethics, independent digital activist, utilitarianism

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Authors: Azza Taha Zaki

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Modern drama was characterised by realism and naturalism as dominant literary movements that focused on contemporary people and their issues to reflect the status of modern man and his environment. However, some modern dramatists have often fallen on classical mythology in ancient Greek tragedies to create a sense of the universality of the human experience. The tragic overtones of classical myths have helped modern dramatists in their attempts to create an enduring piece by evoking the majestic grandeur of the ancient myths and the heroic struggle of man against forces he cannot fight. Myths have continued to appeal to modern playwrights not only for the plot and narrative material but also for the vision and insight into the human experience and human condition. This paper intends to study how the reworking of Sophocles’ Antigone by Jean Anouilh in his Antigone, written in 1942 at the height of the Second World War and during the German occupation of his country, France, fits his own purpose and his own time. The paper will also offer an analysis of the vision in both plays to show how Anouilh has used the classical Antigone freely to produce a modern vision of the dilemma of man when faced by personal and national conflicts.

Keywords: Anouilh, Antigone, drama, Greek tragedy, modern, myth, sophocles

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Authors: Onur Özdemir, M.Erhan ORHAN

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Knowledge Development (KD) is just one of the important phases of Knowledge Management (KM). KD is the phase in which intelligence is used to see the big picture. In order to understand whether information is important or not, we have to use the intelligence cycle that includes four main steps: aiming, collecting data, processing and utilizing. KD also needs these steps. To make a precise decision, the decision maker has to be aware of his subordinates’ ideas. If the decision maker ignores the ideas of his subordinates or participants of the organization, it is not possible for him to get the target. KD is a way of using wisdom to accumulate the puzzle. If the decision maker does not bring together the puzzle pieces, he cannot get the big picture, and this shows its effects on the battlefield. In order to understand the battlefield, the decision maker has to use the intelligence cycle. To convert information to knowledge, KD is the main means for the intelligence cycle. On the other hand, the “Z Generation” born after the millennium are really the game changers. They have different attitudes from their elders. Their understanding of life is different - the definition of freedom and independence have different meanings to them than others. Decision makers have to consider these factors and rethink their decisions accordingly. This article tries to explain the relation between KD and Generation Z. KD is the main method of target managing. But if leaders neglect their people, the world will be seeing much more movements like the Arab Spring and other insurgencies.

Keywords: knowledge development, knowledge management, generation Z, intelligence cycle

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Authors: Fatima Ibnchahid

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Competence approach is considered, since the early 80's as one of the major development of HR policies. Many approaches to manage the professional skills were declined. Some processes are mature whereas the others have been abandoned. Competence can be defined as the set of knowledge (theoretical and practical), know-how (experience) and life skills (personality traits) mobilized by a person in the company. The skills must master a logistics manager are divided into two main categories: depending on whether technical skills, or managerial skills and human. The firsts are broken down into skills on logistical techniques and on general skills in business, seconds in social skills (self with others) and personal (with oneself). Logisticians are faced with new challenges and new constraints that are revolutionizing the way to treat the physical movement of goods and operations related to information flows that trigger, they control and guide the physical movements of these major changes, we can mention the development of information technology and communication, the emergence of strong environmental and security constraints. These changes have important effects on the skills needs of the members of the logistical function and sensitive development for training requested by logistical managers to perform better in their job changes. In this article, we will address two main points, first, a brief overview of the management skills and secondly answer the question asked in the title of the article to know what are the skills that will master a logistical manager.

Keywords: skills, competence, management, logistical function

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Authors: Neziha Jaouedi, Noureddine Boujnah, Mohamed Salim Bouhlel

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In the framework of human machine interaction systems enhancement, we focus throw this paper on human behavior analysis and action recognition. Human behavior is characterized by actions and reactions duality (movements, psychological modification, verbal and emotional expression). It’s worth noting that many information is hidden behind gesture, sudden motion points trajectories and speeds, many research works reconstructed an information retrieval issues. In our work we will focus on motion extraction, tracking and action recognition using wavelet network approaches. Our contribution uses an analysis of human subtraction by Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and body movement through trajectory models of motion constructed from kalman filter. These models allow to remove the noise using the extraction of the main motion features and constitute a stable base to identify the evolutions of human activity. Each modality is used to recognize a human action using wavelets of derived beta distributions approach. The proposed approach has been validated successfully on a subset of KTH and UCF sports database.

Keywords: feautures extraction, human action classifier, wavelet neural network, beta wavelet

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Authors: Xiao-Yan Li, Takashi Hashimoto, Guanhong Li, Shuo Yang

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In Japanese, onomatopoeia is an important element in the lively expression of feelings and experiences. It is very difficult for students of Japanese to acquire onomatopoeia, especially, its nuances. In this paper, based on traditional L2 learning theories, we propose a new method to improve the efficiency of teaching the nuances – both explicit and tacit - to non-native speakers of Japanese. The method for teaching the tacit nuances of onomatopoeia consists of three elements. First is to teach the formal rules representing the explicit nuances of onomatopoeic words. Second is to have the students create new onomatopoeic words by utilizing those formal rules. The last element is to provide feedback by evaluating the onomatopoeias created. Our previous study used five-grade relative estimation. However students were confused about the five-grade system, because they could not understand the evaluation criteria only based on a figure. In this new system, then, we built an evaluation database through native speakers’ narrative interpretation. We asked Japanese native speakers to describe their awareness of the nuances of onomatopoeia in writing. Then they voted on site and defined priorities for showing to learners on the system. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and the learning system, we conducted a preliminary experiment involving two groups of subjects. While Group A got feedback about the appropriateness of their onomatopoeic constructions from the native speakers’ narrative interpretation, Group B got feedback just in the form of the five-grade relative estimation. A questionnaire survey administered to all of the learners clarified our learning system availability and also identified areas that should be improved. Repetitive learning of word-formation rules, creating new onomatopoeias and gaining new awareness from narrative interpretation is the total process used to teach the explicit and tacit nuances of onomatopoeia.

Keywords: onomatopoeia, tacit nuance, narrative interpretation, e-learning system, second language teaching

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Authors: Teju N. Adisa-Farrar

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In European cities, social, political and cultural geographies of blackness exist. Organizations create spaces to discuss, express, and expose the realities of young people of African descent creating an Afropean lifestyle with transnational affiliations. Focusing on black and brown spaces produced by and for the young people of African descent in Vienna and Brussels, it became clear a multidisciplinary approach would be necessary. Using Cultural Studies frameworks along with Communications Theories on Black Public Spheres and Social-Geography, a basis was created for exploring the creative, political, and economic responses of young people who are apart of the historically (and contemporary) oppressed and excluded groups of the African Diaspora. Through this intrinsic study, it became apparent that spaces created and reclaimed by young people of the African Diaspora were more inclusive and democratic than other spaces. The organizations studied have used city life as the platform to express their struggles and celebrations of their multicultural identity; clearly using historical, global black and Pan-African movements as the basis for local adaptation of an African Diaspora identity.

Keywords: African diaspora, black public sphere, identity, spaces, geographies

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Authors: Guolong Zhong, Venkatesh Chennam Vijay, Ilias Oraifige

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In the last 20 years, Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) has shown its advantages in product development in different engineering areas such as automation, mechanical, civil and aerospace engineering in terms of digital design automation and cost reduction by automating repetitive design tasks through capturing, integrating, utilising and reusing the existing knowledge required in various aspects of the product design. However, in primary design stages, the descriptive information of a product is discrete and unorganized while knowledge is in various forms instead of pure data. Thus, it is crucial to have an integrated product model which can represent the entire product information and its associated knowledge at the beginning of the product design. One of the shortcomings of the existing product models is a lack of required knowledge representation in various aspects of product design and its mapping to an interoperable schema. To overcome the limitation of the existing product model and methodologies, two key factors are considered. First, the product model must have well-defined classes that can represent the entire product information and its associated knowledge. Second, the product model needs to be represented in an interoperable schema to ensure a steady data exchange between different product modelling platforms and CAD software. This paper introduced a method to provide a general product model as a generative representation of a product, which consists of the geometry information and non-geometry information, through a product modelling framework. The proposed method for capturing the knowledge from the designers through a knowledge file provides a simple and efficient way of collecting and transferring knowledge. Further, the knowledge schema provides a clear view and format on the data that needed to be gathered in order to achieve a unified knowledge exchange between different platforms. This study used a game-based platform to make product modelling environment accessible for non-engineers. Further the paper goes on to test use case based on the proposed game-based product modelling environment to validate the effectiveness among non-engineers.

Keywords: game-based learning, knowledge based engineering, product modelling, design automation

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Authors: Antonello Troncone, Luigi Pugliese, Andrea Parise, Enrico Conte

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The present study deals with the landslides periodically reactivated by groundwater level fluctuations owing to rainfall. The main type of movement which generally characterizes these landslides consists in sliding with quite small-displacement rates. Another peculiar characteristic of these landslides is that soil deformations are essentially concentrated within a thin shear band located below the body of the landslide, which, consequently, undergoes an approximately rigid sliding. In this context, a simple method is proposed in the present study to forecast the movements of this type of landslides owing to rainfall. To this purpose, the landslide body is schematized by means of a two-block model. Some analytical solutions are derived to relate rainfall measurements with groundwater level oscillations and these latter, in turn, to landslide mobility. The proposed method is attractive for engineering applications since it requires few parameters as input data, many of which can be obtained from conventional geotechnical tests. To demonstrate the predictive capability of the proposed method, the application to a well-documented landslide periodically reactivated by rainfall is shown.

Keywords: rainfall, water level fluctuations, landslide mobility, two-block model

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Authors: Edwina Owusu Panin, Kwame Baah Owusu Panin

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This abstract intends to demonstrate multiple strategies of autism management in Ghana by exploring the possibilities. The advantages of adopting creative art forms as a therapeutic method. Autism is a developmental disorder that includes social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviours. In Ghana, as in many other countries, there is a rising demand for effective intervention and support for people with autism and their families. Creative arts such as music, dance, drama and visual arts have shown promise in promoting communication, social interaction and inclusion of people with autism. These art forms provide alternative channels for self-expression and can be powerful tools for autistic people to interact with the world, their friends and families around them. Creative art forms interventions have been found to improve social skills, improve emotion regulation, promote creativity and increase self-confidence in people with autism. This study examines existing programs and interventions in Ghana involving creative art forms for people with autism through a comparative analysis. It explores the different approaches, methods and results of these interventions. By comparing and evaluating these programs, the study aims to identify best practices, challenges and areas for development in managing autism through the creative arts in Ghana. Although many schools and rehabilitation centres employ various forms in therapeutic approaches for autism. There is no comparative analysis of which type of autism and which creative art forms is suitable. The results of this study will contribute to the development of evidence-based practices for the management of autism in Ghana. It provides valuable information about the effectiveness of creative arts interventions and helps inform policy makers, educators, therapists and other stakeholders involved in autism support. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the well-being and quality of life of people with autism in Ghana and their families by promoting inclusive and accessible interventions that harness the power of creative art forms.

Keywords: autism, therapeutic, creative art, art form

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Authors: Mojahid F. Saeed Osman

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Repairable items inventory system is a management tool used to incorporate all information concerning inventory levels and movements for repaired and new items. This paper presents development of an effective simulation model for managing the inventory of repairable items for a production system where production lines send their faulty items to a repair shop considering the stochastic failure behavior and repair times. The developed model imitates the process of handling the on-hand inventory of repaired items and the replenishment of the inventory of new items using Economic Order Quantity and Reorder Point ordering policy in a flexible and risk-free environment. We demonstrate the appropriateness and effectiveness of the proposed simulation model using an illustrative case problem. The developed simulation model can be used as a reliable tool for estimating a healthy on-hand inventory of new and repaired items, backordered items, and downtime due to unavailability of repaired items, and validating and examining Economic Order Quantity and Reorder Point ordering policy, which would further be compared with other ordering strategies as future work.

Keywords: inventory system, repairable items, simulation, maintenance, economic order quantity, reorder point

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Authors: Aelita Skarzauskiene, Monika Maciuliene

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In this paper, we conduct a systematic survey of urban communities in Lithuania to evaluate their potential to co-create collective intelligence or “civic intelligence” applying Digital Co-creation Index methodology that includes different socio-technological indicators. Civic intelligence is a form of collective intelligence that refers to the group’s capacity to perceive societal problems and to address them effectively. The research focuses on evaluation of diverse organizational designs that increase efficient collective performance. The current scientific project advanced the state of the art by evaluating the basic preconditions in the urban communities through which the collective intelligence is being co-created under the systemic manner. The research subject is the “bottom up” digital enabled urban platforms, initiated by Lithuanian public organizations, civic movements or business entities. The web-based monitoring results obtained by applying a social indices calculation methodology and Pearson correlation analysis provided the information about the potential and limits of the urban communities and what possible changes need to be implemented to overcome the limitations.

Keywords: computer supported collaboration, socio-technological system, collective intelligence, networked society

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Authors: Kevin Moustapha

Abstract:

Psychopathy is perceived today as being «the most important concept in the criminal justice system» and as «the most important legal notion of the early 21 th century». The explosion of research related to psychopathy seems to perfectly illustrate this trend. Traditionally, many studies tend to focus on links between insanity defense and psychopathy. That is why our purpose in this article is to analyze psychopathic disorders in the scope of judges sentencing in Canada. Indeed, in every Canadian case related to dangerous offenders, judges must balance between fairness and protection of the individuals rights of the accused and protection of society from dangerous predators who may commit future acts of physical or sexual violence. Increasingly, psychopathic disorders are taking an important part in judge sentencing, especially in Canada. This phenomenon can be illustrated by the high proportion of psychopath offenders incarcerated in North American prisons. Many decisions in Canadians courtrooms seem to point out that psychopathy is often used as a strong argument by the judges to preserve public safety. The fact that psychopathy is often associated with violence, recklessness and recidivism, it could explain why many judges consider psychopathic disorders as an aggravating factor. Generally, the judge reasoning is based on article 753 of Canadian Criminal Code related to dangerous offenders, which is used for individuals who show a pattern of repetitive and persistent aggressive behaviour. However, with cognitive neurosciences, the psychopath’s situation in courtrooms would probably change. Cerebral imaging and news data provided by the neurosciences show that emotional and volitional functions in psychopath’s brains are impaired. Understanding these new issues could enable some judges to recognize psychopathic disorders as a mitigating factor. Two important questions ought to be raised in this article: can exploring psychopaths ‘brains really change the judge sentencing in Canadian courtrooms? If yes, can judges consider psychopathy more as a mitigating factor than an aggravating factor?

Keywords: criminal law, judges sentencing, neurosciences, psychopathy

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Authors: Abdul Mufid

Abstract:

This study aims to integrate hadith, astronomy, and sociology studies in studying the accelerated implementation of the unification of the Hijri calendar through a multidisciplinary approach. The Hijri calendar is compiled based on the astronomical phenomena of regular movements of the earth, moon, and sun. Meanwhile, for the implementation of worship, the Hijri calendar must refer to the provisions of Islamic law or fiqh. To set the Hijri calendar, agreement on the criteria for the visibility of the new moon (first crescent), date limits, and absolute authority is required. Agreement on visibility criteria requires a valid basis for astronomical studies. Agreement on territorial boundaries is necessary because our earth is round, and the new moon cannot be observed simultaneously. And the agreement of the authorities is also needed to resolve unavoidable differences, especially differences in the appearance of the new moon and differences in schools of thought. The research is based on astronomical data, the experiences of Indonesia and Islamic countries regarding the Hijri calendar, in-depth and focused interviews with various sources, as well as a review of hadith literature. The results of the study show that the implementation of the unification of the Hijri calendar through the three approaches above can be carried out and can be accelerated.

Keywords: calendar unification, new moon (hilal) visibility, multidisciplinary approach, the unity of the Muslims

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Authors: Ebru Dalgakiran

Abstract:

Border and bordering studies have come to the forefront in recent years especially with parallel to increase in international migratory movements. Although conceptualizations of the border and bordering are quite contested within academia, the general point of view is that borders are politically and socially constructed. It means that borders have always their own ‘us vs. them’, and bordering process produce separate identities as well. In that case, Turkey and Greece are notable examples since these two nation-states constructed their borders upon each other’s for years although the Turkish-Greek border was drawn with the Lausanne Treaty of 1923. Nevertheless, on the other hand, The European Union (EU) has been externalized of border management policies to build a stronger area of freedom, security, and justice within the borders. Thus, Turkish-Greek border has become one of the significant external borders of the EU. In this context, this study aims to understand whether the EU’s bordering process through externalizing border management policies can affect Turkey’s and Greece’s bordering processes. By examining official documents of the EU and conducting in-depth interviews with local actors of the border management policies of the EU in Edirne, where is the border city of Turkey with Greece, this study’s main finding is that the EU’s bordering process to control migration at the external borders affects Turkey’s and Greece’s bordering processes. It seems that Turkey and Greece construct their borders upon a common Other, ‘irregular migrants’ now.

Keywords: border, bordering, the European Union, externalization

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Authors: Anitha Naittee Abraham, N. Sreedevi

Abstract:

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have relatively better expressive language compared to other individuals with intellectual disabilities. Reduced speech intelligibility is one of the major concerns of this group of individuals due to their anatomical and physiological differences. The study investigated the vowel articulation of Malayalam speaking children with DS in the age range of 5-10 years. The vowel production of 10 children with DS was compared with typically developing children in the same age range. Vowels were extracted from 3 words with the corner vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/ in the word-initial position, using Praat (version 5.3.23) software. Acoustic analysis was based on vowel space area (VSA), Formant centralization ration (FCR) and F2i/F2u. The findings revealed increased formant values for the control group except for F2a and F2u. Also, the experimental group had higher FCR, lower VSA, and F2i/F2u values suggestive of imprecise vowel articulation due to restricted tongue movements. The results of the independent t-test revealed a significant difference in F1a, F2i, F2u, VSA, FCR and F2i/F2u values between the experimental and control group. These findings support the fact that children with DS have imprecise vowel articulation that interferes with the overall speech intelligibility. Hence it is essential to target the oromotor skills to enhance the speech intelligibility which in turn benefit in the social and vocational domains of these individuals.

Keywords: Down syndrome, FCR, vowel articulation, vowel space

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Angelis P. Barlampas

Abstract:

Purpose of Learning Objective: This case depicts the need for cooperation between the emergency department and the radiologist to achieve the best diagnostic result for the patient. The clinical picture must correlate well with the radiology report and when it does not, this is not necessarily someone’s fault. Careful interpretation and good knowledge of the limitations, advantages and disadvantages of each imaging procedure are essential for the final diagnostic goal. Methods or Background: A patient was brought to the emergency department by their relatives. He was suddenly confused and his mental status was altered. He hadn't any history of mental illness and was otherwise healthy. A computing tomography scan without contrast was done, but it was unremarkable. Because of high clinical suspicion of probable neurologic disease, he was admitted to the hospital. Results or Findings: Another T was done after 48 hours. It showed a hypodense region in both thalamic areas. Taking into account that the first CT was normal, but the initial clinical picture of the patient was alerting of something wrong, the repetitive CT exam is highly suggestive of a probable diagnosis of bilateral thalamic infractions. Differential diagnosis: Primary bilateral thalamic glioma, Wernicke encephalopathy, osmotic myelinolysis, Fabry disease, Wilson disease, Leigh disease, West Nile encephalitis, Greutzfeldt Jacob disease, top of the basilar syndrome, deep venous thrombosis, mild to moderate cerebral hypotension, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, Neurofibromatosis type 1. Conclusion: As is the case of limitations for any imaging procedure, the same applies to CT. The acute ischemic attack can not depict on CT. A period of 24 to 48 hours has to elapse before any abnormality can be seen. So, despite the fact that there are no obvious findings of an ischemic episode, like paresis or imiparesis, one must be careful not to attribute the patient’s clinical signs to other conditions, such as toxic effects, metabolic disorders, psychiatric symptoms, etc. Further investigation with MRI or at least a repeated CT must be done.

Keywords: CNS, CT, thalamus, emergency department

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Emma M. Iglesias

Abstract:

We have analyzed extreme movements of the main stocks traded in the Eurozone in the 2000-2012 period. Our results can help future very-risk-averse investors to choose their portfolios in the Eurozone for risk management purposes. We find two main results. First, we can clearly classify firms by economic sector according to their different estimated VaR values in five of the seven countries we analyze. In special, we find sectors in general where companies have very high (telecommunications and banking) and very low (petroleum, utilities, energy and consumption) estimated VaR values. Second, we only find differences according to the geographical situation of where the stocks are traded in two countries: (1) all firms in the Irish stock market (the only financially rescued country we analyze) have very high estimated VaR values in all sectors; while (2) in Spain all firms have very low estimated VaR values including in the banking and the telecommunications sectors. All our results are supported when we study also the expected shortfall of the firms.

Keywords: risk management, firms, pareto tail thickness parameter, GARCH-type models, value-at-risk, extreme value theory, heavy tails, stock indexes, eurozone

Procedia PDF Downloads 349